'He Is Very....': Mohit Sharma Opines About Star All-Rounder Hardik Pandya
Veteran Indian pacer Mohit Sharma recently shared his wisdom regarding playing under Hardik Pandya's leadership while he was at the Gujarat Titans in IPL.
Sharma praised Pandya's expressive nature; most people appreciate it, but not many can mimic it. Hardik's flamboyant nature has often thrown him in the limelight and inappropriately put him at loggerheads with others on a couple of occasions. After joining the Mumbai Indians this year from the Gujarat Titans, he was even booed everywhere across the nation after being subjected to a barrage of criticism. Still, he turned out to be a real turnaround for his team in the T20 World Cup 2024, especially at the finals where he picked three match-winning wickets and disposed of David Miller in the final over.
Mohit Sharma Opines About Hardik Pandya
“The concept of being misunderstood is different for every individual. If I like to remain humble, it doesn't mean that everyone would like to remain humble. There are some people who are over- expressive. In our community, we find it difficult to accept when someone comes out like that".
"I will give you a perfect example - if you stay in a high-rise building and see someone enjoy the rain, even we feel like doing it, but our hesitation stops us. So, everyone wants to be like Hardik, but they can't be like him, which results in these things," he added.
Mohit Sharma talking about Hardik Pandya. (2 Sloggers).pic.twitter.com/AcYiRJ5Rxl
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 25, 2024
“As a person, Hardik is a very nice human being. He is a darling type of guy and very easygoing. He makes the atmosphere very healthy. It doesn't matter what the world thinks. As a leader, there is always some scope for improvement. Hardik's biggest quality is that he gets his players pumped up because he himself likes to be pumped uр,” the star pacer said about Hardik.
Hardik Pandya: An Inspiration For Many
“When he does that, it is inspiring for the ones around him. He would somehow manage to fix his back but there would still be some cramps and back pain. It is easy for people to say, but you have to be in that situation to understand. You can't even move when your back is injured, but in that situation, he does fielding and tries to bowl two overs,” he concluded.
Although Hardik Pandya's tenure as Gujarat Titans' captain did not come to life with any memorable moments, he had a glorious period of time with the side that helped him go on to claim the IPL title for the year 2022, making him the first and only time as captain ever in the history of the franchise. He moved to the former side, Mumbai Indians, ahead of IPL 2024. Speaking of his good nature and the ability to generate confidence and positive energy in his team and keep everyone revved up, former teammate Mohit Sharma said He's got an irrepressible spirit, and Mohit remembered him playing always on the pitch with full dedication even when he was facing physical issues such as back problems.
Hardik Pandya's IPL Career
Hardik Pandya, a very talented seam-bowling allrounder—unearthed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2015.
He played his first 7 seasons with Mumbai Indians and blossomed into one of the world's top all-rounders, playing key innings for Mumbai Indians in their title winning year- 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. But Hardik's injuries became chronic and marred his final year with MI, following which he was finally released after the 2021 season.
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At the beginning of IPL 2022 season, Hardik joined new franchise Gujarat Titans and was appointed a captain, though he had never led any team before. In his debut as a captain, he took the Titans to an IPL title in their very first appearance and sent them back to the final at the IPL 2023 season.
After two successful seasons with the Titans and helping them win their maiden IPL cup, Hardik returned to Mumbai as captain replacing Rohit Sharma ahead of IPL 2024.
His most successful season was with 2019, when he scored 402 runs at 191.41 strike rate and took 14 wickets that brought the title for Mumbai. In IPL 2022, he was the highest scorer for the Titans with 487 runs, playing an important role for the same team to win their first title of IPL.
